What's in a name
by MegaWallflower
Summary: Kairi's name means more than just "sea". A series of vignettes, each themed around a different meaning of Kairi's name.
1. Sea

Kairi smiled as the waves enveloped her feet and sighed as they pulled back into the ocean. The cycle repeated until she stood up and waded into the water.

It felt cool against her skin… It felt natural.

She immersed herself in the water and lied on her back, letting the waves carry her. She felt like they were rocking her, soothing her.

Her friends always asked where she came from. For all she knows, she might have come from the ocean. Maybe her home was under the sea and she floated up to shore one day.

Kairi doubted this, but it would explain how she felt so calm, so serene, so… in place here in the sea.


	2. Sea, as part of the trinity

A small girl washed up on the land, carried by the waves.

"Who's that?" Sora yelled excitedly, running over to the shore.

"What is it Sora?" Riku asked, following after him.

Both young boys stared at the girl lying on the beach. She had shoulder length red hair and a white and purple dress.

"Hey! Are you okay? Hello?" Sora yelled.

Riku bent down and shook the girl. "What's wrong?"

The girl coughed a little before she opened her eyes and stared at the two boys.

Here, on the beach, where the sea meets the land and the sky meets them both, three children met for the first time.

Kairi, Sora, and Riku.

The sea, the sky, and the land.


	3. Nautical Mile

"Grandma?" the little girl yelled, running around. She tried to find someone familiar. There were monsters everywhere, and everything seemed darker. She couldn't even find the flowers she loved to pick. "Grandma!"

She suddenly felt herself lifted up. It couldn't be her grandma; she wasn't this tall. "Grandma!" the little girl yelling, kicking and screaming.

Suddenly, she felt something hit the back of her neck, and everything went fuzzy. "Grand…ma…Aq..ua…" the girl muttered before she slipped from consciousness.

When she awoke, she would be in a new world, with miles of ocean separating her from her birthplace.

Miles and miles of ocean.


	4. Alienation

**Special Thanks to Amatus, who helped me get the info I needed for this! ^^**

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><p>Leon, Aerith, and Yuffie were getting ready to leave. "Will you be okay here, Kairi?"<p>

Kairi nodded happily. "I'll wait here for Sora and Riku to return." She noticed the depressed looks on Yuffie's and Aerith's faces, and the way that Leon looked down. "Don't worry, I'm sure they're both fine! Sora and Riku are strong!" she said half out of faith and half out of fear.

Leon nodded somberly and Aerith smiled weakly at Kairi before they both walked out. "Well, we'll be in Hollow Bastion!" Yuffie called before she waved and ran out the door. Kairi giggled.

She waited alone in the house, lost in her thoughts, alienated by her worry.

Could Sora save Riku? How was Riku…? "…He must be okay. He can take care of himself." Alone with her thoughts, Kairi remembered how strong Riku was. He would be fine, right?


	5. Dissociation

Kairi sat on the paopu tree and watched the waves wash in and out. She looked over at Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka. They were all playing a ball game together.

Kairi smiled. She was happy everyone was back… but she still didn't feel quite right. They'd dreamed about getting off the islands forever, but actually doing it was so different than she'd thought it would be.

And she just couldn't ignore what she'd remembered… Her grandma's story… Where was her grandma now? Where was Riku now? Kairi sighed. Was this, in a way… her fault?

"Hey Kairi!"

Kairi almost jumped as she heard Selphie's voice. She turned around and smiled sweetly. "Uh-huh?"

"Wanna play with us? I need another person on my team to play Blitz Ball!"

Kairi shook her head slightly. "…In a minute, okay?"

Kairi jumped off the tree and walked towards her secret place. She didn't mean to dissociate herself, but in the time that she was away from her best friends, she got noticeably quieter. She had a lot of things to think about.


	6. Estrangement

"Kairi! Remember what you said before? I'm always with you, too. I'll come back to you! I promise!"

"…I know you will!"

Their hands pulled apart. Kairi watched as Sora drifted further and further away. No… she was drifting away.

Suddenly, something light landed in Kairi's closed hands. Both Kairi and Sora looked up in amazement. It was snowing.

Kairi looked behind her. All around her the island was returning. The trees sprouted back, and the houses reappeared. When she turned back around, the sea was back as well.

Sora yelled something to Kairi as he disappeared over the horizon. He had a big smile on his face.

_Sora… _Kairi thought, looking down for just a moment after he'd disappeared in the light. Her head shot back up again as she watched stars shoot up into the sky, back to where they belonged.

She closed her eyes, deep in thought. _I wish…for both of my best friends to return safely._ She opened her eyes and smiled gently.

Just as the tide returned to the beach, and the stars returned to the sky, her friends would return to her. She smiled as she looked around. The land, the sea, and the sky were back again. Destiny Islands was okay.

She would wait here on the islands. Because she knew that Sora would return. And he'd bring Riku with him.

But until then they would be so far away. Her two best friends were gone. And they'd be gone for a long time. And she was left here… estranged.


	7. Detachment

"Aw, come on, I definitely beat him this time!" Sora whined.

"No way, I won this again, Sora." Riku replied smugly.

"Sorry, Sora, but I'll have to say it was Riku again," Kairi said thoughtfully.

"Aw! No fair!" Sora whined.

"Sorry, but that's how it was," Kairi said. She was ten, after all. They had been doing this enough for Kairi to know how to be a fair, detached judge.

"Fine! Rematch!" Sora yelled.

"You're on!"

"Okay, then!" Kairi said with a big smile on her face. "On my count!"


	8. Ocean Village

Kairi giggled as Sora and Riku fought again, while Tidus and Wakka were absorbed in another Blitz Ball game. Beside her, Selphie jump-roped happily.

"Kairi, Kairi, watch this!" Selphie called while she did a trick.

"No, Kairi watch me beat this loser!" Sora called.

"Yeah, right," Riku replied. "There's no way you'll win!"

Kairi giggled again. She loved spending time with her friends.

At the end of the day, on their way back home, Kairi had a big smile on her face.

"So, can you remember anything about your hometown, Kairi? You know, where you came from before?" Sora asked while Riku stared at her expectantly.

Kairi's smile faded as she tried to recall something –anything. "…No. Nothing."

Honestly, Kairi couldn't imagine living anywhere besides her ocean village.


	9. Melody

**This was going to be Song/Melody in one, for the Old French meaning of the name. But I spread it into two because both seemed significant enough.**

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><p>Kairi sat with Selphie on the pier, staring out at the ocean. Without Sora and Riku, Kairi noticed that it was a lot quieter. She tried to make the best of it, since Selphie was starting to worry about her.<p>

"Ah, the breeze feels great!" Selphie noted wistfully.

Kairi closed her eyes and focused on the sounds. Birds chirped, a gentle breeze blew, Tidus and Wakka played Blitz Ball, waves splashed…

"When you listen closely, it's kind of like a song," Kairi sighed thoughtfully. She started to hum a gentle melody.

Selphie looked over at Kairi with a big smile on her face. "Now that I think about it, you're right! It's like a concert!"

Kairi smiled back at Selphie. "What are we waiting for? Wanna join the concert?" Kairi jumped up and looked around for something to use to make music of some kind.

"That's the Kairi I know!" Selphie exclaimed, hopping up as well. "Tidus! Wakka! Come on!"

"Huh?" Tidus turned around and stared and Selphie, which made him get hit in the head with the ball. "Ow! Wakka!"

"Sorry, brudda."

"Come on! We're gonna make a concert!" Selphie called.

Kairi giggled at her friends. She couldn't just keep staring into space. She was going to make something of the time she had to wait. She would play, maybe get a little stronger. It's what Riku and… the other boy…Sora? What they would've wanted.


	10. Song

_Thinking of you, wherever you are._

Kairi sat in her room and wrote up her letter for the boy she was remembering. As she wrote, the memories became clearer and clearer.

The boy had spikey brown hair and was about her age. He was always playing with her and Riku. There were races, and fights, and laughter…

The words easily flowed out of Kairi as she realized how much she missed him. It was almost like a song.

The storm, the separation, the travels, the rescues, the worries…

Their trio would come together again, though. She just knew it.

_We pray for our sorrows to end, and hope that our hearts will blend._

But they've been gone for so long… Kairi couldn't just sit and wait much longer. She wanted to be able to help.

_Now I will step forward to realize this wish._

Kairi sat back and thought for a moment. How could she find them? How would she even begin? She shook her head. She had faith that they could find each other again. They were connected. And so were the worlds.

_And who knows:_

_starting a new journey may not be so hard,_

_or maybe it has already begun._

_There are many worlds, but they share the same sky —_

Kairi smiled and stared up at the sky from her window before she finished her letter. Her promise. Her song. To the boy... to Sora.

_one sky, one destiny._


	11. Moon

**Special thanks to Giratina for the Taíno meaning of Kairi: Moon!**

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><p>Kairi followed close behind Sora to where a light connected to heart shaped moon in sky: Kingdom Hearts. A mouse and a man were next to a machine that was emanating the light.<p>

"Your Majesty!" Sora cried out.

"Sora, the rest is up to you," the man said resignedly. "And Roxas, I doubt you can hear me, but… I am sorry." Roxas… the boy she talked to before?

"Ansem!" His Majesty shouted.

"My heart is telling me what I must do. Please, allow me to do what it says!" The man, apparently Ansem, practically begged.

Kairi was confused, but she could tell that Mickey was obviously torn by this. "His heart's decided. We can't change that," Riku explained, trying to comfort the distraught King.

Suddenly, a dark, brooding man with silver hair came out, saying how they were fools who had conveniently come right to him. He and Ansem talked about apprentice and teacher, heartless and their creation, even the creation of brand new worlds!

It took a bit of filling in on her part, but Kairi understood the gist of the situation. This must be Xemnas.

Ansem cryptically gave Riku his instructions and said his farewells to the King before the machine exploded in a huge array of light.

Riku held back Sora, Donald, and Goofy, and Kairi held back the King. She was sure that Ansem wouldn't want his friend to be in trouble because of _his_ choice. Kairi understood that feeling well.

There was a loud explosion and a pillar of light shot up in the sky. As the light faded, everyone looked around in wonder before another flood of light blinded them. Kairi almost fell back, but Sora supported her.

The light surrounded them, and they all fell, dazed. When the light faded, Kairi heard Sora call Riku's name in surprise.

She brought herself up and stared at Riku with the others. He was back to normal! "Riku!" she cried happily.

Riku was back! Like when the moon wanes and waxes, but returns as full and bright as ever, her best friend had returned from Ansem to Riku!

The giant heart shaped moon in the sky had a gaping hole missing from it now, Kairi noticed offhandedly. Still, Kairi felt fine with her two best friends by her side. And, she couldn't explain it, but she also had faith that Mickey would see his friend again someday soon.

She'd learned many things in all this time, and one of the most important lessons was to believe in reunions. If your hearts are connected, you're sure to see your friend again. She smiled as she followed her friends deeper into the castle.


	12. Beaver

"Come on, Sora, we'll never finish the raft if you keep slacking off!" Kairi called to Sora as she tied another piece of wood to the raft.

"Hey! I'm not slacking off!" Sora called back, still searching for another log.

"Then why haven't you found any more wood for the raft?" Kairi teased.

"I have to_ find_ logs! I'm not a beaver!" Sora joked.

"Maybe if you were a beaver like me, this would be easier." Kairi ran in front of Sora and picked up a pointed to a log behind a bush. "Over here!"

"Thank you, Miss Beaver." Sora teased as he picked up the log.

"Hehe. You're just jealous."

"Can you both get to work on the raft?" Riku said, walking up to them holding two logs under his arms.

"Riku might be a better beaver than you, Kairi," Sora whispered loudly enough for both his friends to hear.

"No way, I'm the best beaver!" Kairi whispered back just as loudly.

"Good beavers aren't so lazy," Riku whispered to them, making Sora and Kairi pout.

All three of them burst into laughter. Kairi was glad she'd have her two favorite beavers with her if she was leaving this world. Things would be a lot less scary if both of them were with her.


End file.
